BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
CONTACT: Doug Johnson, BPA, 503-713-7658 cell
Scott Simms, BPA, 503-230-3520
Katie Pruder, BPA 503- 230-3111
BPA media line, 503-230-5131
BPA expects to restore service to Raymond area overnight
BPA service into Astoria disrupted
PORTLAND, Ore. - Bonneville Power Administration crews expect to finish repairs to a high-voltage transmission line into Raymond, Wash., overnight, restoring service to the Pacific County Public Utility District.
Extensive damage remains, however, on lines serving nearby Cosmopolis, which is served by Grays Harbor PUD.
"Our aerial surveillance of the Cosmopolis area shows some pretty heavy damage due to down trees and transmission lines," said Robin Furrer, BPA transmission field services vice president. "We now have crews on the ground to confirm the aerial reports, and the good news is the on-the-ground reports are much more promising with fewer downed trees than expected." Due to the extent of the damage, BPA cannot estimate when power will be restored to this area.
"This has been a catastrophic storm for us that caused extensive damage to our system," said Liz Anderson, Grays Harbor PUD community and government relations director. "Our crews are working very hard to restore power as quickly as possible. We appreciate our customers' patience as we know this is a difficult time." Anderson said as of 5:15 p.m. today between 20,000 and 25,000 of their customers remain without power.
The flow of power to Astoria continues to be impacted by both BPA and Pacific Power transmission outages. BPA service into the Astoria area was again disrupted today when a line conductor failed. BPA believes its connection into Astoria will be fixed by tomorrow evening and is working with Pacific Power on restoration efforts.
Since BPA operates the high-voltage transmission lines serving Northwest utilities, it is important to note that the delivery of power to local communities depends on each individual utility's ability to deliver the power transmitted by BPA.
BPA is a not-for-profit federal electric utility that markets more than a third of the electricity consumed in the Pacific Northwest. The power is produced at 31 federal dams and one nuclear plant in the Northwest and is sold to more than 140 Northwest utilities. BPA operates a high-voltage transmission grid comprising more than 15,000 miles of lines and associated substations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
###
printer friendly